Playing Mr. Perfect (The Bradens at Ridgeport #1)

Pepper

I’m on a dead run Monday morning, and everything seems to be going my way. Ravi and I hammer out most of the proposal we hope to pitch to MS Enterprises, and I schedule a meeting with their acquisitions team for next week, which gives me time to research their investment history. But first I dive into researching a new project.

I’m poring over drawings, working on designs midafternoon, when a text rolls in from Clay. Just seeing his name on my phone makes my pulse quicken. He only got a mild headache yesterday morning. We relaxed at home after watching the sunrise, and once his headache eased, we had a great time building our boats and racing them in the lake. The temperature dropped in the afternoon, but we didn’t let it ruin our fun. My boat won the race, and I gloated, doing a happy dance that put my previous night’s touchdown dance to shame.

Clay definitely brings out my inner child, and I don’t hate it. We called Seth later in the afternoon. I was worried that our text exchange from Saturday might make things awkward between us, but Seth and I hit it off right away. He’s a little serious, like me, but he’s funny, too. He and Clay heckled each other throughout the conversation, which reminded me of my siblings. Seth was incredibly helpful, and the three of us came up with a killer ad for the receptionist position. I placed it this morning, and I’m excited to see how well it works.